Senate moves forward with redistricting measure

(Ap photo by Chris O'Meara)

The Senate could vote as soon as Tuesday on a bill that would set guidelines for what happens when redistricting legal cases are unresolved in election years.

Senators on Thursday took up the bill (SB 352), filed by Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Elkton, and positioned it for a vote.

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A similar House bill (HB 953), filed by Rep. Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, has not been heard in committees.

The bills come after long-running legal battles that led to Florida's congressional and Senate districts being redrawn before the 2016 elections.

Those legal battles stemmed from the Fair Districts anti-gerrymandering standards approved by voters in 2010.

Hutson's bill focuses, in part, on boundaries that would be used when legal challenges to redistricting plans are pending.

For example, it would have the effect of ensuring that legislative boundaries in place at qualifying time would be used in that year's primary and general elections, according to a Senate staff analysis.

The Senate's next floor session is scheduled Tuesday.